Page 31 - Volume 16 Number 4

And most disturbingly (at least to me, as a multiengine flight instructor), the pilot appeared not to know there was a manual landing gear extension procedure for just such an event. Or, he was so unfamiliar with the procedure that he chose not to try it, but instead resigned himself to an airplane-grounding gear up landing because of an electrical anomaly in clear, daytime conditions.
Anyone who flies a retractable gear airplane knows there will be some sort of alternate landing gear extension procedure (I hesitate to even call it an “emergency” extension, because a failed gear extension drive system is not in itself a real “emergency”). Any pilot who gets checked out in a new type should practice the alternate extension procedure unless there is a specific warning in the Pilot’s Operating Handbook or Flight Manual against it—and every instructor providing such a checkout should include this type of practice.
Was there was some unreported or extenuating circumstance that made a low pass and an immediate, intentional gear-up landing the best choice in this instance? Did the pilot panic in the press of the moment, blanking out the possibility of manually extending the wheels (panic usually being the result of lack of training and preparation)? Did he think it was the better choice to tell ATC he was going around because the landing gear wasn’t down, then intentionally landing gear up...instead of getting away from the traffic pattern, cranking down the landing gear and then returning for a landing? We don’t know—and maybe we’ll never know.
The Seven Questions To Answer
It’s not really important that we see this particular case “solved.” It is important, however, that we see it as a reminder to get into the airplane’s handbook, including supplements for optional equipment, and be able to answer these seven questions about every system in the aircraft:
APRIL 2012
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